Alex MacKenzie is an attending pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa, Canada. He has served as the CEO and Science Director of the CHEO Research Institute as well as Vice President of Research for both his hospital and Canada’s federal genomic research funding agency Genome Canada. In addition to being a founding scientist of the AEgera biotech company, Dr. MacKenzie’s laboratory has conducted translational research on therapies for rare genetic diseases.

Dr. Kanji is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Critical Care at the Ottawa Hospital and an Associate Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. He has published on a variety of topics related to critical care pharmacotherapy and has active research programs in antimicrobial dose optimization in sepsis, new onset atrial fibrillation, medication safety in the ICU and environmental sustainability.

Dr. Omar Anjum is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Ottawa and an emergency physician at The Ottawa Hospital. He completed his medical degree at the University of Ottawa in 2018, followed by Royal College residency training in Emergency Medicine in 2023. He also holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto (2024), where he developed expertise in systems design, human factors engineering, and process optimization.

Dr. Anjum has practiced emergency medicine across Canada, including in Toronto and Calgary, and now works full-time in an academic tertiary care centre in Ottawa. His academic and clinical interests focus on the application of emerging technologies in healthcare, human factors engineering, and process improvement. He is particularly interested in emergency department wait times and how data-driven, patient-centred, and systems-based approaches can be leveraged to improve efficiency, communication, and care delivery within Canada’s publicly funded healthcare system.

Dr. Shirley Mei is a translational leader uniquely positioned to discuss the ethics of genetic editing. As an Investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and a former biotech Chief Operating Officer, she has over two decades of experience navigating the complex journey of gene and cell therapies from lab discovery to clinical reality. Her pioneering work includes leading the world’s first genetically engineered mesenchymal stem cell therapy into Phase 1 clinical trial for septic shock patients —a tangible example of gene editing applied to a critical unmet medical need. This hands-on experience provides Dr. Mei with a direct, practical perspective on the ethical considerations, regulatory pathways, and systemic challenges of bringing transformative, high-cost therapies to society. Her talk will bridge the gap between the scientific promise of gene editing and the profound practical and ethical questions it raises for our healthcare systems.

​Dr. Blackmer will be discussing Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD). Dr. Blackmer currently serves as the Executive Vice-president, Global Health and Chief Medical Officer at the Canadian Medical Association where at the CMA he has led the work of the association on issues such as global health, pandemic planning and response, end of life care and assisted dying, climate change, opioid prescribing, and legalization of cannabis.